Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James was in true superstar form on Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz. He finished with 37 points on 14-for-27 from the field, tallying five rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes of play. One of his only weak moments of the game came at the end of regulation, however.
The Lakers had the ball with just over 10 seconds remaining in a tie game. James passed the ball to the perimeter then cut to the basket and got the ball back at around the left elbow. He drove to the basket and rose up over two Jazz defenders only to miss the layup, allowing the Jazz to force overtime.
He refused to make the same mistake in overtime. James completed a perfect spin move for a layup to give the Lakers the lead with 27 seconds remaining in the extra period, and that would ultimately be the game-winning basket. He spoke about his mindset with both layups, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I drew it up and I wanted to go quick so at least if I missed it, they would come down, we could get a stop and get another crack at it. And then I had to redeem myself from the end of regulation. I smoked the layup. Going to my left hand, my strong hand, and for me to miss that, I had to make up for it and I was able to make up for it.”
The Lakers couldn’t rely on Anthony Davis as much in the second half after the Jazz adjusted their defense against him. Davis still finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, but it was on the team’s ball handlers to make an impact after halftime.
James spoke about the shift in gameplan and how the Lakers counteracted it.
“Well in the second half, they definitely was not trying to let AD play. You could see they were doubling him on every catch. So we had to be ready on the perimeter to make plays, but AD was still being aggressive. In overtime, even though they started overtime with a three-point play, it’s all about just keeping your composure knowing five minutes is an eternity. So I just wanted to be able to slow the game down in those moments, which I was able to do.”
The Lakers desperately needed the victory over the Jazz, as it clinched their place in at least the Play-In Tournament and momentarily moved them into the No. 6 seed.
It also sets up a massive game against the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday with the two teams tied at 41-38. Luckily, James was able to get the redemption he was after in the overtime period.
Anthony Davis will talk to the Lakers on Wednesday before determining game status
Davis has not played in both segments of a back-to-back since Nov. 6 and 7 of this season. He may do so on Wednesday with the team’s place in the standings in the balance.
Davis spoke about his status, saying that he’ll discuss with the team, James and D’Angelo Russell to determine who among them is able to play on Wednesday and who has to sit.
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